Focus on Intentional Living

A year ago, we closed the door on the home we'd loved for almost 19 years.

People often talk about downsizing. Jon and I never saw it that way. For us, it was always about rightsizing—finding a home that reflected the life we wanted to live now, not the one we'd created two decades earlier. We wanted more freedom, flexibility and time for what mattered most.

Our vision was clear: stunning views, no traffic noise, a welcoming village community, light-filled rooms with a south/west facing garden, a spacious family kitchen and a home where our children would always want to return. I also dreamed of a garden where future grandchildren could hunt for Easter eggs, play hide and seek and create memories for years to come. We imagined summer barbecues, evenings around a fire pit and a home that worked for us instead of us working for the house.

The reality was far less glamorous.

On 8 July 2025, professional movers transported over 450 carefully labelled items from our home into the new one, knowing it still needed a complete refurbishment. Every box was colour-coded so we could function while living between homes.

Then, on 2 January 2026, we woke to a blanket of snow. With no removal company, the four of us moved everything by hand truck into a rental two doors away which would be our new home while the work was completed. Five months later, we moved everything back again.

Three full moves in less than a year. Two of which were completed without a professional removal company assisting us. It was exhausting. It was messy. It certainly tested us. Yet, reflecting on the one year anniversary, I can honestly say every step was worth it.

This house hasn't simply met our expectations; it has far exceeded them. It isn't bigger; it's better suited to the life we want to live. Then there's the garden! It unfolds beautifully across three magical levels. The top is for gathering, laughter and play, surrounded by roses, jasmine, honeysuckle and hydrangeas. The middle offers quiet reflection, with a greenhouse already producing an abundance of vegetables. The lower-level bears fruit: peach, apple, plum, pear, fig and pomegranate trees alongside wildflowers, rosemary, lilac and peonies that bloom throughout the seasons.

I don't feel as though I own this garden. I feel I've become its new steward. Someone before me lovingly imagined, planted and nurtured it. Now it's my privilege to care for it, help it flourish and one day pass it on to someone else. That, perhaps, is the greatest lesson of this journey.

Rightsizing isn't about having less. It's about creating space for more of what matters. The memories from our previous home were never left behind; they live within us. Now we're creating new ones in a home and garden that feel as though they were waiting for us all along. Sometimes the biggest leap of faith leads you exactly where you were meant to be.

This week, identify one area—your home, work, relationships, commitments or possessions—and ask yourself: Does this support the life I want to create? If the answer is no, take one intentional step towards rightsizing your life.

Focus on Intentional Living. Focus on Why!

REFLECTION WITH ACTION: Where in your life are you holding on to something that reflects who you were rather than who you are becoming?